Tool for making electrical connections



June 1, 1965 R. F. COBAUGH ETAL 3,185,073

TOQL FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Filed Feb. 12, 1964 7 Sheets-Sheet l June 1, 1965 Filed Feb. 12, 1964 R. F. COBAUGH ETAL TOOL FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS main/7 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 1-, 1965 R. F. COBAUGH ETAL 3,186,073

TOOL-FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Fi led Feb. 12, 1964 '7 Sheets-Sheet s June 1, 1965 R. F. COBAUGH ETAL 3,186,073

. TOOL FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL commcuous Filed Feb. 12,- 1964 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 June 1, 1965 R. F. COBAUGH ETAL 3,186,073

TOOL FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Filed Feb. 12, 1964 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 gwg/ Jqne 1, 1965 R. F. COBAUGH ETAL TOOL FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Filed :Feb. 12, 1964 7 Shets-Sheet e June 1, 1965 R.F.QBAUGH Em 3,186,073

TOOL FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Filed Feb. 12. 1964 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 u-u u upu- UUUUIJ United States Patent Long, Harrisburg, Pa., assignors to AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa.

Filed Feb. 12, 1964, Ser. No. 344,304 Claims. (Cl. 29-203) This invention relates to apparatus for electrically connecting a conductor to a terminal post.

The co-pending application of Robert F. Cobaugh, Serial Number 171,074, filed February 5, 1962, for Electrical Connections discloses a method and apparatus for electrically connecting a Wire to a terminal post by means of a clip which is adapted to embrace the post and to hold the wire against the surface of the post. The present invention relates to an improved apparatus for making electrical connections in accordance with the principles of application Serial Number 171,074.

In making an electrical connection in accordance with the principles of application Serial Number 171,074, it is advantageous to use a tool having a mandrel over which the clip is pushed when it is applied to a terminal post. In the use of such tools, the tool is positioned with the mandrel in axial alignment with the post and the clip is pushed directly over the mandrel and onto the post. The mandrel should, for best results, be in perfect, or near perfect, alignment with the terminal post at the time of making the electrical connection and it has been common in prior art tools of this type to provide a pair of spring fingers on each side of the mandrel which function to hold the tool in alignment with the terminal post. While the use of these aligning fingers has presented a satisfactory method of achieving the necessary degree of alignment under many circumstances, it has been found that they are undesirable if the terminal post is mounted on a panel board in accordance with a grid system and is surrounded by other terminal posts. The objection to the use of aligning fingers under such circumstances arises from the fact that the fingers extend laterally beyond the terminal post with which the connection is being made and may damage an electrical connection on an adjacent terminal post. In fact, the terminal posts are sometimes spaced so closely that the aligning fingers cannot be used for the reason that a tool equipped with fingers will not fit between the post to which a connection is being made and the adjacent posts.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved device for electrically connecting a conductor to a terminal post by means of a clip which is adapted to hold the conductor against a surface of the post. A more specific object of the invention is to provide a tool for applying terminal clips to terminal posts having improved means for aligning the tool with the post during application of the clip to the post. A further object of the invention is to provide a tool for applying terminal clips to terminal posts having a compact aligning means for aligning the tool with the post which permits usage of the tool to make connections to posts mounted on panel boards and surrounded by closely spaced adjacent posts.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferred embodiment comprising a hand tool having a mandrel over which the terminal clip is adapted to be moved during application to the post. The movement of the terminal clip is brought about by means of a reciprocable clip pusher which pushes the clip over the mandrel and onto the post in two separate motions or strokes. During a first stroke of the clip pusher, the clip is moved over the mandrel and up to the end thereof until the leading end of the clip overhangs the end of the mandrel. The clip pusher has a recess in its leading end within which 3,186,073 Patented June 1, 1965 the clip is nested and which projects slightly beyond the leading end of the clip. At the end of this first stroke, the operator can position the tool in alignment with the post with the end portion of the post extending within the recess of the leading end of the clip pusher, and into the portion of the clip which overhangs the leading end of the mandrel. Since the end of the post is received within the confines of the leading end of the clip pusher and within the relatively narrow confines of the clip, the clip itself and the leading end of the clip pusher function as a guiding and aligning means for the post to assure substantially perfect alignment of the mandrel and clip with the post during the critical stage when the clip is moved onto the post. During a second stroke of the clip pusher, this member pushes the clip past and off the mandrel and onto the terminal post. The wire which is being connected to the post will have been initially engaged by clip during its movement over the mandrel and is dragged, during the second stroke of the clip pusher, oil the mandrel and onto the post in accordance with the general principles described in application Serial Number 171,074.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a hand tool incorporating the principles of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional side view showing the forward end of the tool of FIGURE 1 with the parts in the positions they occupy at the beginning of the operating cycle;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the positions of the parts at an intermediate stage of the cycle and after the leading clip has been severed from the strip of clips and pushed beyond the end of the mandrel;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the positions of the parts at the end of the second stroke of the clip pusher and after the clip and wire have been moved onto the terminal post;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional side view, taken along the lines 5-5 of FIGURE 9, of the rearward end of the tool of FIGURE 5 showing the normal positions of the parts which they occupy at the beginning of the cycle;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 but showing the positions of the parts in the rearward end of the tool at the intermediate stage of the cycle corresponding to the positions of the parts as shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 but showing the positions of the parts at the end of the forward stroke of the clip pusher and corresponding to the positions of the parts as shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURES 8 and 9 are sectional views taken along the lines 8-8 and 99 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURES 10 and 11 are transverse sectional views taken along the lines 1010 and 1111 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view taken along the lines 12-12 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 13 is a perspective view of the leading end of the clip pusher;

FIGURE 14 is a perspective view of the mandrel mounted in the forward end of the tool;

FIGURE 15 is a perspective view of a short section of end-to-end connected terminal clips;

FIGURE 16 is a view showing the individual wire connected to a terminal post by means of a terminal clip;

FIGURE 17 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional side view showing the end portion of the mandrel in alignment with the terminal post and illustrates the manner in which the leading end of the clip and the leading end of the clip pusher function to align the terminal post with the mandrel;

FIGURE 18 is a View taken along the lines 18-18 of FIGURE 17; and

FIGURE 19 is a plan View of a typical panel board comprising a plurality of terminal posts mounted on a grid system in closely spaced relationship to each other.

Referring first to FIGURES 15 and 16, in accordance with the above-identified application Serial Number 171,074, a wire 16 is electrically connected to a terminal post 12 by means of a clip 2 which is advantageously manufactured in end-to-end strip form from strip metal stock. Each clip has a web portion 4 and has sidewalls 6 extending from opposite sides thereof, these sidewalls being reversely curled towards each other and towards the web as shown at 8 so that the clip is .ted to embrace the post with the web disposed against one side of the post and with the reversely curled edges of the sidewalls 8 bearing against the opposite side. The metallic core 14 of the wire extends towards the base of the post along one side of the post and between the web and the post surface and emerges from the clip at an outwardly cupped insulation support on one end of the web. Electrical connections of the type shown in FIG- URE 16 are frequently used to connect conductors to the individual terminal posts of a wiring panel of the type shown in FIGURE 19. As is apparent from this figure, the terminal posts are in closely spaced relationship of each other and the application of the clips to the post at the time of making the electrical connections can- 19 must be capable of fitting between the post 168 and the posts 162, 164 on each side of the post 168. The

'present invention relates to a type of hand tool for applying clips to posts which is amenable to usage with posts on panel boards as shown in FIGURE 19 and which has an improved aligning means for aligning the tool with the post to which the connection is being made. The embodiment of the invention described below shows a hand tool of the general type shown and claimed in the copending application of Robert R. Long, Serial Number 299,377, filed August l, 1963 and differing from this Long tool only with regard to the novel features of the present invention.

Turning now to FIGURES 1, 5 and 10, a preferred embodiment of the invent-ion comprises a pistol grip type manually actuated hand tool having a pair of interfitting housing members 18, 29. At its left-hand end, as viewed in FIGURE 1, the outer housing member 18 is of U-shaped cross-section and has a top side 22 from which a pair of side-walls 2 depend. Intermediate its ends, a handle portion 26 extends from the sidewalls 24 while at its rearward end the outer housing 18 is of rectangular cross-section having a top side 32, sidewalls 34, and a lower side 36. It will be noted that this rearward section of housing member 18 is of a smaller cross-section than the forward section of the housing and that a rearwardly sloping transition section between the two crosssections is located rightwardly of the handle 26 as is shown at 28 and 30.

The inner housing section 20 is of generally rectangular cross-section and is coaxially and slidably mounted within housing section 18. This inner housing section has a top wall 38 disposed against top wall 22 of the outer housing, sidewalls 48 which are disposed against the sides 24 of the outer housing, and a bottom wall 42. The sidewalls 415 project below th esidewalls 24 and the bottom wall 42 is disposed beneath the forward end of the housing 18. Adjacent to its right-hand end as viewed in FIGURES 1 and 5, the inner housing 28 has a depending handle portion 44 which is received between the sides of the handle 26 of the outer housing.= As explained more fully below, the inner housing is adapted to be moved r ightwardly as viewed in the drawings, when the handles are squeezed by the operator.

A hollow rectangular frame member, generally indicated at 46, is slida-bly mounted within the rectangular cross-section of the inner housing member 20 and extends from the left-hand end of these two housing members past the inner housing 20 and for a slight distance past the right-hand end of the outer housing 18. A channelshaped projection 53 extends leftwardly from the 1efthand end of the housing members 18, 28 towards the frontal end of the tool.

The portion of the frame 46 which is received within the two housing members 18, 20 has a top wall 48, side walls 58, and a bottom wall 52, these walls being disposed against the top wall 38, the sidewalls 4t), and the bottom wall 42 of the inner housing member 20. The righthand end portion of the frame member 46 is sl-idably received in the reduced cross-sectional portion 32, 34 of the outer frame member 18 as is shown in FIGURE 5. The external dimensions of the frame member 46 are such that it is slidable with respect to the inner housing sect-ion 20 and the outer housing section 18 as is evident from an inspection of FIGURES 5, 6 and 10.

A lance 54 is struck upwardly from the top wall 48 of the frame 46 to provide a forwardly facing stop 53 for engagement with the right-hand end of the top wall 38 of the inner housing member 20. By virtue of this lance, when the inner housing member 20 is moved rightwardly from the position of FIGURE 5 to the position of FIGURE 6, the housing member 20 pushes the frame member 46 rightwardly with respect to the outer housing 18.

A pair of lances 56 (FIGURE 8) are struck inwardly from the sidewalls 24 of outer housing 18 adjacent to, and forwardly of, the transition section 28, of this housing. These lances provide forwardly facing shoulders 57 which are engageable with the right-hand ends of the sidewalls of the inner housing 20 thereby to limit the extent of rightward movement of the inner housing with respect to the outer housing.

The channel-shaped projections 58 on the forward end of frame 46 extends leftwardly beyond the left-hand ends of the two housing sections 18, 20 and has a top wall 60 from which sidewalls 62 depend. A block 64 (FIGURES 1, 2, 11 and 12) is mounted between the sidewalls 62 by means of pins 68 and has a depending flange 66 at its right-hand end which is received between the forward ends of the sidewalls 50 of the frame member. Block 64 extends beyond the end of the frame portion 58 as shown at when the parts are in the position of FIGURE 1 and a mandrel block 120, described below, is mounted within this projecting portion 65 of block 64-. An axially extending groove 70 is provided on the upper side of the block 64 and a channel-shaped clip pusher 72 is slidably received in this channel. The block 64 thus functions as aguide block for the clip pusher. The clip pusher has depending sidewalls 73 with inwardly extending edges 74, the orientation of the clip pusher in the groove 70 being such that these inwardly edges are disposed against the bottom of the groove. The internal cross-section of the clip pusher conforms to the external cross-section of the individual clips and the internal spacing between the sidewalls 73 is such that the clips can be axially moved within the clip pusher with the inwardly directed ends 74 of the sidewalls of the pusher supporting the inwardly turned edges 8 of the strip of clips as is shown in FIG- URE 11.

The leading clip in the strip is pushed by the clip pusher by means of a pair of feed fingers 76 (FIGURE 13) extending from a yoke 78 mounted in a transverse recess on the forward end of the top wall of the clip pusher. These feed fingers 76, which comprise fiat springs disposed in openings in the sidewalls 73 of the clip pusher, have inwardly turned ends 77 which are adapted to lodge between the leading clip of the strip and the next adjacent clip so that upon forward movement of the clip pusher (i.e., leftward movement from the position of FIGURE 2) this leading clip will be pushed leftwardly over the mandrel as described below. The trailing edges of the inwardly turned finger 77 are beveled in a manner such that the fingers will be sprung outwardly during retractile motion of the clip pusher thus permitting the clip pusher to move rearwardly with respect to the strip of clips.

The feeding of the strip of clips contained within the channel-shaped clip pusher is controlled by means of a pair of stops 80, 82 mounted in recesses in block member 64. The stop 80 (FIGURES 2 and 12) is of circular cross-section and is slidably contained in a cylindrical opening 84 extending downwardly into the block 64. A spring 86 normally biases the stop 80 upwardly but permits downward movement as is described below. The stop 80 has a projection on its upper end which normally extends beyond the path of movement of the strip of clips, this projection having a rightwardly facing stop surface 114 and a forwardly facing sloping surface 112. The stop 80 is moved downwardly from the position of FIGURE 2 until it is disengaged from the leading terminal of the strip during an initial portion of each operating cycle by means of a lever 88 which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends at 92 within an axially extending groove 90 in block 64 beneath the groove 70. The left-hand end 102 of this lever as viewed in FIGURE 2 extends into a slightly oversized opening in the stop 80 so that upon counterclockwise movement of the lever about its pivotal axis 92, the stop is lowered to release the strip for feeding motion. This motion of the lever 88 is effected by means of a pin 108 which extends between, and has its end secured to, a pair of forwardly projecting ears 110 on the sides 24 of the housing member 18. When the housing member 18 is moved relatively leftwardly with respect to block 64 from the position of FIGURE 2 to the position of FIGURE 3, the pin 108 engages a sloping camming surface 106 on the lower end of a depending arm 104 on the right-hand end of the lever 88 forcing this righthand end of the lever upwardly as viewed in FIGURE 2 and causing the left-hand end of the lever and the stop 80 to be moved downwardly against the biasing force of the spring 86.

An enlarged opening 96 extends transversely through the block 64 between the stop 80 and the pivotal axis 92 of the lever 88. The lever has an enlarged section 94 disposed in this opening and stop 82 is mounted in a downwardly extending oversized hole 98 in this enlarged section of the lever. Advantageously, a lost motion key and keyway connection 100 is provided between the stop 82 and the lever although the stop 82 is free to move relative to the lever and is biased upwardly as viewed in FIG- URE 2 by means of a spring 87. On its upper end, the stop 82 has a leftwardly facing stop surface 118 which extends normally of the path of movement of the strip of clips and a sloping rightwardly facing surface 116. The pointed upper end of this stop is adapted to lodge between the leading terminal clip of the strip and the next adjacent terminal and to prevent rightward (i.e., rectractile) movement of the strip from the position shown in FIGURE 2. It will be apparent that insofar as the stop 82 is concerned, the strip of terminal clips can be fed leftwardly since the clip which is next adjacent to the leading clip will push against the sloping surface 116 and will bias this stop downwardly against the biasing force of the spring 87. The stop 80, however, must be lowered before the strip can be fed leftwardly.

A mandrel block 120 (FIGURES 2 and 14) is mounted within the forwardly projecting portion 65 of blocks 64, by means of a fastener 122 and a locating pin 123. A mandrel, over which the connector clip is pushed, is provided on the upper side of block 120 and comprises an upstanding rib 129 and a head 130 which extends later- I ally beyond the rib on each side. Intermediate the ends of the mandrel block, an opening 124 extends downwardly as view in the drawings through head 130 and into the block for reception of the end of a wire. An opening 125 extends transversely through the mandrel block 120 and the rib 129 and intersects the wire receiving opening 124.

6 Opening 129 is provided for the purpose of permitting removal of the short section of insulation which remains in the opening 124 when a clip is pushed over the mandrel and past opening as described below.

A centrally located groove 132 in the upper surface of the head slopes from the left-hand side of the opening 124 upwardly towards the top surface of the head, this groove being provided to facilitate the with drawal of the metallic core of the wire from the end section of insulation as is described fully in the application Serial Number 171,074. The end of head 130 does not extend to the end of the rib 129 but ends as shown at 134 to provide a shoulder against which the upper end of the terminal post is positioned when the tool is used. It will also he noted from FIGURE 2 that the mandrel extends rightwardly as shown at 136 over the stop 80 so that the leading clip can be pushed past the stop 80 and onto the T-shaped projection on the right-hand side of the mandrel before it is moved against the wire disposed in the opening 124.

Referring now to FIGURES 7-9, the clip pusher 72 extends rightwardly from the block 64 through the frame member 46 to the rearward end of the tool. The righthand end of this clip pusher extends into a groove 143 in a block 144 and is secured to this block by means of set screws 142. Block 144 is contained between the sides 50 of the frame and is held in position by means of screws 146 which extend through the sidewalls 34 of the outer housing, through elongated slots 148 in the frame member, and are threaded into the block itself. A helical spring 150 is interposed between the forwardly facing surface of the block 144 and the rearwardly facing surface of the block 64.

Since the disclosed embodiment of the tool is adapted to use relatively short lengths of strip, it is advantageous to provide a storage means in the tool for holding several lengths of strip. Accordingly, a storage rack 152 is provided within the frame 46 beneath the block 144 and extends forwardly to the face of the block 64. Since each strip of clips must be pushed leftwardly into the left-hand end of the channel-shaped clip pusher until the leading clip is positioned between the two stops 80, 82, a ramrod 156 is provided which is integral with a cap piece 154 on the right-hand end of the frame. This ramrod is used when a strip of clips is loaded in the clip pusher to push the strip up to the leading end of the pusher. The ramrod extends through an opening in the block 144 and partially into the helical spring 150 as shown in FIGURES 6 and 9.

The making of an electrical connection of a Wire to terminal post with the tool of the instant invention is carried out in two separate steps. During the first step, the operator grasps the tool, inserts the end of the wire into the opening 124 in the mandrel, and squeezes the handles 26, 24. The tool is not positioned against the post while the first step is being carried out but is held by the operator in the manner most convenient to him so that he is free to manipulate the wire and the tool in any desired manner. During the second step, the operator positions the tool against the end of the post and pushes the tool downwardly to complete the electrical connection as is more fully described below. The operator thus need not concern himself with the problem of aligning the tool with the post during the first step and can concentrate on the operations of inserting the wire into the mandrel opening 124 and squeezing the handles. During the second step, the operator can then concentrate on the operation of aligning the tool with the post without concerning himself with the wire insertion step. The construction of the tool is such that the aligning step is assisted and facilitated by the positions of the clip pusher and the leading terminal clip at the end of the first step as will be apparent from the detailed description set forth below of the movements of the parts during use.

The parts will normally be in the positions of FIG- URES l, 2, 5, 8 at the beginning of the first step of the operating cycle. The leading terminal clip of the strip will be lodged between the rightwardly facing surface 114 of the stop 80 and the leftwardly facing surface 118 of the stop 182 so that the strip will be prevented from moving relative to the plunger or push rod. The operator first inserts the end of an insulated wire into the opening 124 in the mandrel block and squeezes the two handle portions 26, 24. This squeeze of the handles results in partial compression of the spring 150 of the tool and causes the inner housing section 20 to move rightwardly relative to the outer housing section 18. Since the righthand end of the inner housing section 20 is in engagement with the lance 54 of the frame member, the frame member will also be moved rightwardly until it projects from the right-hand end of the outer housing as shown in FIGURE 6. During relative movement of the frame member and the inner housing from the positions of FIGURES 2 and to the positions of FIGURES 3 and 6, the feed fingers 76 of the clip pusher will move into engagement with the leading clip of the strip and move the entire strip of clips leftwardiy. Substantially simultaneously with engagement of the feed finger with the leading clip, the pin 108 will be moved against the camming surface 106 causing the lever 88 to be rocked in a counterclockwise direction about its pivotal axis 92 thereby to lower the stop 86 and to permit the leading clip to move past the rightwardly facing stop surface 114. The next adjacent clip will move past the sloping surface 116 of the stop 82 and bias this stop downwardly.

During squeezing of the handles 26, 44 and after the pin 108 has moved past the cam surface 106 of the lever 88, the lever will be biased towards its normal position under the influence of the spring 86 and the upper end of the stop 80 will be resiliently urged against the underside of the next adjacent clip of the strip. After the first clip moves entirely past the plane of the surface 114, the stop 80 Will be urged further upwardly by the spring 36 and the apex defined by the sides 112, 114 will lodge between the leading clip of the strip and the next adjacent clip. When the parts reach this position, it will be apparent that the next adjacent clip (the second clip in the strip) cannot be moved leftwardly past the stop surface 114 although the plunger or clip pusher will continue to move leftwardly. The tensile stress imposed on the leading clip then causes fracture in the neck portion of the strip between the leading clip and the next adjacent clip. Fracture will take place in this neck portion between adjacent clips for the reason that the strip is inherently weakest in this area of reduced cross-section.

As the operator continues squeezing of the handles the clip is moved onto the mandrel portion 136, and past the opening 124. The leading end of the clip then forces the wire in this opening against the edges of the mandrel on each side of the groove 132 so that the insulation is severed and the clip drags the end portion of the conducting core of the wire out of the opening 124. At the conclusion of the operation of squeezing the handles the parts will be in positions of FIGURES 3 and 6 with the leading clip disposed on and overhanging the head 139 of the mandrel and with the wire extending from the insulation support portion of the clip. At this stage of the cycle, the first step referred to above will have been completed. The leading clip, as best shown in FIGURE 18, will be nested within the leading end portion of the clip pusher so that the beveled edges 166 of the sides of the clip pusher in cooperation with the sidewalls 6 of the clip provide a convergent guide for the end of the terminal post.

The operator then positions the tool in alignment with the terminal post until the top or end of the post is lodged against the surface 134 of the mandrel head 130. It is during this step that the guiding and aligning functions of the leading clip and the leading end of the clip pusher are effective to assist the operator in achieving the required 8 degree of alignment of the mandrel with the post. It will be apparent from FIGURES l7 and 18 that the underside of the post is supported by the end portion of the rib 129 in FIGURE 14 of the mandrel, the side edges of the post are supported between the sidewalls of the clip, and the top of the post in FIGURE 17 is supported by the portion of the wire which is held by the clip. By virtue of this support of the post on four sides, the operator with the exercise of very little skill or judgment, can achieve the proper degree of alignment for the final stroke of the clip pusher as described below during which the clip is moved onto the terminal post.

After positioning the tool in alignment with the post the operator pushes the tool downwardly against the terminal post causing the inner and outer housings 18, 20, the block 144, and the clip pusher 72 to move leftwardly with respect to the frame member 46, the mandrel, and the block 64. During such movement of the two housing members and the clip pusher, the spring 150 is further compressed between the block 144 and the block 64. During this interval, the clip pusher pushes the leading clip off of the leading end portion of the mandrel and onto the terminal post and the clip, in turn, drags the wire onto the post. The tool can then be removed from the post and the operator can release his grip on the handles after which the parts automatically return to the positions of FIGURES 2 and 5 under the influence of the spring 150.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the disclosed embodiment of the invention can be thought of as having a two stage actuating means which is effective to push the clip from the position of FIGURE 2 to the position of FIGURE 3 during the first stage of its operation and to push the clip from the position of FIG- URE 3 to the position of FIGURE 4 during the second stage of its operation. The movement of the clip pusher 72 from the position of FIGURE 2 to the position of FIGURE 3 constitutes, in effect, a first forward stroke of the clip pusher while the movement of the clip pusher from the position of FIGURE 3 to the position of FIG- URE 4 constitutes a second forward stroke. The disclosed embodiment of the invention can also be considered as having a first clip pushing means which is effective to move the clip pusher from the position of FIGURE 2 to the position of FIGURE 3 and a second clip pushing means which is effective to move the clip pusher from the position of FIGURE 3 to the position of FIGURE 4.

A salient advantage of the invention is thus that the operator is able to achieve substantially perfect alignment of the mandrel head with the terminal post 12 when he carries out the second of the two steps described above. Little or no technical skill is required to achieve such alignment of the parts since the terminal post is con fined by the terminal clip and the surface of the mandrel head 130 after it is inserted into the end of the tool. Furthermore, the manipulative step of positioning the tool on the end of the terminal post is greatly facilitated by the fact that the post is guided during this step by the projecting ends of the clip pusher and the projecting sidewalls of the clip until the post is positioned as shown in FIGURES 17 and 18 with respect to the mandrel. As previously noted, tools in accordance with the invention do not require aligning fingers or other external aligning devices on the sides of the mandrel as has been common prior art practice. The absence of such external guiding and aligning devices makes it possible to use a tool in accordance with the invention where the post 160, 162, 164 (FIGURE 19) are relatively closely spaced on the panel board.

The principles of the invention are applicable to pneumatically actuated tools or other tools having a power source for moving the clip pusher over the mandrel. Where the principles of the invention are applied to such power actuated tools, it is necessary to provide a means for moving the clip pusher over the mandrel and beyond the mandrel in twoseparate steps corresponding to the movements of the clip pushed described above.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art and various apparently different modifications and embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only. The actual scope of the invention is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective against the prior art.

We claim:

1. In a tool of the type intended for applying a term1- nal clip to a terminal post and including a mandrel con: forming to the internal cross-section of said clip whereby said clip can be moved over said mandrel, past a conductor extending transversely of the axis of said mandrel and onto said post to drag said conductor onto said post, the improvement comprising: a first clip pushing means for pushing said clip over, and beyond the end of, said mandrel until said clip projects beyond the end of said mandrel, and a second clip pushing means for pushing said clip a further distance along the axis of, and beyond the end of, said mandrel whereby, during movement of said clip under the influence of said first clip pushing means said clip engages said conductor and drags said conductor over said mandrel, and said tool can be positioned in aligmnent with said terminal post with the end of said post being received within said projecting portion of said clip, and said clip can be thereafter moved onto said post by said second clip pushing means.

2. In a tool of the type'intended for making an electrical connection between a conductor and a terminal post and comprising a mandrel conforming to the internal cross-section of said clip, whereby, upon positioning said mandrel in alignment with said post and upon movement of said clip over said mandrel, past a transversely extending conductor, and onto said post, said conductor is dragged over said mandrel and onto said post, the im provement comprising: clip pushing means for moving said clip over said mandrel and onto said post, and twostage actuating means for driving said clip pushing means over said mandrel and onto said post, said actuating means having a first stage during which said clip is pushed over, and partially beyond the end of, said mandrel whereby, at the conclusion of said first stage, said tool can be positioned on said post with said mandrel against the end of said post and said clip functions as an aligning means for aligning said mandrel with said post, said actuating means having a second operating stage during which said clip is pushed from said mandrel onto said post.

3. A tool for making an electrical connection between a conductor and a terminal post by means of a clip which is axially movable onto said post, said tool comprising, a mandrel conforming to the internal cross-section of said clip, a clip pusher movable over, and beyond the end of said mandrel, said clip pusher having a recess in the leading end thereof for reception of said clip, said clip pusher having wall portions extending axially beyond said clip, means for moving said clip pusher through a first forward stroke along a path extending parallel to, and beyond the end of, said mandrel whereby, said clip is pushed to the end of, and overhangs the end of, said mandrel, and means for moving said clip pusher through a second forward stroke in which said clip is pushed from, and beyond the end of, said mandrel whereby, at the conclusion of said first stroke, said tool can be positioned with said post against, and'in alignment with said post, said leading end of said clip pusher and the overhanging end portion of said clip serving as an aligning means for aligning said post with said mandrel.

4. A device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said tool comprises a manually-actuated hand tool having handle means for moving said clip pusher through said first forward stroke, said handle means and said clip pusher being movable as a unit relative to said mandrel for moving said clip pusher through said second forward stroke.

5. A tool for making an electrical connection between a conductor and a terminal post by means of a clip which is axially movable into said post, said tool comprising, a mandrel having a rib portion and a head portion and having a generally T-shaped cross-section, said head portion of said mandrel conforming to the internal cross-section of said clip, said rib portion extending axially beyond said head portion at one end of said mandrel, a clip pusher movable over, and beyond the end of, said mandrel, means for moving said clip pusher through a first forward stroke along a path extending parallel to, and beyond the end of, said mandrel head portion whereby, said clip is pushed to the end of, and overhangs the end of said mandrel head portion, and means for moving said clip pusher through a second forward stroke in which said clip is pushed beyond the end of said head portion whereby, at the conclusion of said first stroke, said tool can be positioned against said post with the end of said post disposed against the end of said head portion of said mandrel, said leading end of said clip and said rib portion of said mandrel serving as an aligning means for aligning said post with said mandrel.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,286,809 6/42 Hutchison 292l2 X 2,397,872 4/46 Kovacs 78-46 3,040,425 6/ 62 Muenchinger 29413 3,074,155 1/63 Cootes et a1. 29206 WHITMORE A. WILTZ, Primary Examiner. THOMAS H. EAGER, Examiner. 

1. IN A TOOL OF THE TYPE INTENDED FOR APPLYING A TERMINAL CLIP TO A TERMINAL POST AND INCLUDING A MANDREL CONFORMING TO THE INTERNAL CROSS-SECTION OF SAID CLIP WHEREBY SAID CLIP CAN BE MOVED OVER SAID MANDREL, PAST A CONDUCTOR EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE AXIS OF SAID MANDREL AND ONTO SAID POST TO DRAG SAID CONDUCTOR ONTO SAID POST, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING: A FIRST CLIP PUSHING MEANS FOR PUSHING SAID CLIP PROJECTS BEYOND THE END OF, SAID MANDREL UNTIL SAID CLIP PROJECTS BEYOND THE END OF SAID MANDREL, AND A SECOND CLIP PUSHING MEANS FOR PUSHING SAID CLIP A FURTHER DISTANCE ALONG THE AXIS OF, AND BEYOND THE END OF, SAID MANDREL WHEREBY, DURING MOVEMENT OF SAID CLIP UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF SAID FIRST CLIP PUSHING MEANS SAID CLIP ENGAGES SAID CONDUCTOR AND DRAGS SAID CONDUCTOR OVER SAID MANDREL, AND SAID TOOL CAN BE POSITIONED IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID TERMINAL POST WITH THE END OF SAID POST BEING RECEIVED WITHIN SAID PROJECTING PORTION OF SAID CLIP, AND SAID CLIP CAN BE THEREAFTER MOVED ONTO SAID POST BY SAID SECOND CLIP PUSHING MEANS. 